Freedom in the Family - by Tananarive Due & Patricia Stephens Due (Paperback)

About the Book

An extraordinary tribute to the civil rights movement is seen through the eyes of a mother and daughter--on parallel journeys that encompass the voices of two generations.

Book Synopsis

Patricia Stephens Due fought for justice during the height of the Civil Rights era. Her daughter, Tananarive, grew up deeply enmeshed in the values of a family committed to making right whatever they saw as wrong. Together, in alternating chapters, they have written a paean to the movement its hardships, its nameless foot soldiers, and its achievements and an incisive examination of the future of justice in this country. Their mother-daughter journey spanning two generations of struggles is an unforgettable story."

Review Quotes

"Fascinating . . . [Freedom in the Family] chronicles the rich details of the struggle."
--The Miami Herald

"The two generations provide a bifocal view of the Movement and affirm the stories of those who lived, marched, protested, suffered, survived, and died during those tumultuous times."
--Ebony

"Freedom in the Family is American history, written by those who lived it. Tense, human, inspirational, and all true, a testament to character and endurance by women who took active roles in the dramatic events that forever changed the face of this nation."
--EDNA BUCHANAN, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of
The Corpse Had a Familiar Face and The Ice Maiden

"Revisit[s] an essential era in America, and in doing so not only add[s] another layer of information to understanding that time but, as important, introduce[s] its reality to today's young."
--The New York Times

"A MUST-READ FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO KNOW HOW MOVEMENT IS MADE AND SUSTAINED."
--JULIAN BOND
Chairman of the NAACP

"An important, affecting joint memoir that examines the struggles of . . . the civil rights movement."
--Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Compelling . . . Testaments to the unsung women of the civil rights movement and the visionary local leaders who often toiled in obscurity while facing savagery they knew would go unavenged."
--Newark Star-Ledger

"A fascinating and important new book . . . A memoir so absorbing and essential that it takes two people to tell."
--Oregonian

"This book is the celebration of an extraordinary woman's life; it's well-written, interesting, and certainly not the end of the story."
--The Denver Post

"An ennobling insider's look at the civil rights movement. Patricia and Tananarive Due are two of my new heroes."
--CHARLES JOHNSON
National Book Award-winning author of
Middle Passage

"Underscores the fact that for blacks in America, the struggles of the past are definitely not past. A must-read tale . . . that connects the dots between then and now."
--NATHAN MCCALL
Author of Makes Me Wanna Holler:
A Young Black Man in America

"POWERFUL . . .Mother and daughter write with an energy that is cathartic in its recounting of past obstacles, and optimistic in its hopes for the future."
--Publishers Weekly

"A living testament to the enduring personal and family consequences of the struggle for freedom and equality."
--GLENDA ALICE RABBY, author of
The Pain and the Promise: The Struggle for
Civil Rights in Tallahassee, Florida

"The Dues make it easy for the reader to transition from past to present, but impossible to overlook the sweet sorrow of a mother and daughter having to walk some of the same testy ground on matters racial."
--DEBORAH MATHIS
Author of Yet a Stranger:
Why Black Americans Still Don't Feel at Home

"This book, an insider's look at the twentieth-century civil rights movement, is personal history at its best."
--Deseret News (Salt Lake City)

"Freedom in the Family . . . succeeds at doing exactly what the Dues wanted: to write of ordinary people, black and white, doing extraordinary things."
--Book Street USA

"Rare is the book that can take a reader through two generations of activism--and from two women's points of view. That makes Freedom in the Family a unique way of exploring history and change."
--Cape Cod Times

"Readers will quite likely be both charmed and educated by these dedicated, candid, brilliant women."
--Kirkus Reviews

"POIGNANT . . . MOVING ACCOUNTS . . .AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF COURAGE."
--Contra Costa Times

"Their stories are compelling and an important tribute to the thousands who struggled to bring about these necessary changes. . . . An important reminder that people continue to fight against such discriminatory practices with quiet determination every day."
--Boulder Daily Camera

"The civil rights movement that swept across the United States starting in the 1950s is most often told in broad-brush strokes. . . . The Dues, however, abandon the broad brush strokes for a narrative technique more akin to pointillism. . . . The book is a testament to the individuals, black and white, famous and obscure, who made racial equality an achievable goal rather than a hopeless dream. It ought to have a long shelf life, because the 'race question' will unfortunately be part of everyday existence throughout the United States for a long time."
--San Jose Mercury News

"A salute to the foot soldiers of the movement . . . This family history is an important book to help us understand the sacrifices by people like Patricia Due, and by the many others whose voices won't be heard."
--Times-Picayune (New Orleans)

"An incredible insider's view of one of our nation's most turbulent times. Told in alternating chapters, each writer offers a unique and unforgettable voice of the civil rights struggle from the 1950s onward."
--Florida Today

"Wow! This book touched me like To Kill a Mockingbird did and still does. . . . A tale of courage and perseverance."
--The Chuckanut Reader

"A unique approach to shedding light on the civil rights movement."
--The Crisis

"A moving tribute to the civil rights movement and its foot soldiers."
--Library Journal

"This book is a testament to the individuals, black and white, famous and obscure, who made racial equality an achievable goal rather than a hopeless dream. It ought to have a long shelf life."
--The Seattle Times

About the Author

Tananarive Due is a former features writer for the Miami Herald. She has written many highly acclaimed novels, including The Black Rose and My Soul to Keep. She received a 2002 American Book Award for her novel The Living Blood. Ms. Due makes her home in Longview, Washington, with her husband, novelist Steven Barnes.

Patricia Stephens Due was a civil rights activist with CORE while attending Florida A&M University. In 1960, based on her nonviolent stand during a landmark "jail-in," she received the prestigious Gandhi Award. She is married to a civil rights lawyer, has three daughters, and continues to work for change in America. Over the years, she has conducted civil rights workshops and re-enactments for colleges, public schools, civic groups, and churches. She lives in Miami, Florida, with her husband, John Due.